"Thale" screens Wednesday night at Toronto International Film Festival

XLrator Media has acquired U.S. rights to the Norwegian supernatural thriller "Thale," the filmmakers and Barry Gordon, CEO of XLrator Media announced Wednesday in Toronto.

The film, which screens Wednesday night at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Vanguard section, is scheduled for release in early 2013.

"Thale," written and directed by Aleksander L. Nordaas, tells the story of a mythical “huldra,” a beautiful, tailed female forest creature, who is discovered in a concealed cellar by two crime scene cleaners. The creature is unable to speak so she can’t explain how she came to be there, but the pieces of the puzzle soon come together.

"'Thale' is a haunting and atmospheric thriller that grips you from the opening scene to the chilling finale," Gordon said in a statement. “It once again shows Scandinavia to be a rich wellspring for today’s most compelling and stylish thrillers, from 'Let the Right One In' to 'Troll Hunter' to 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' and its sequels.”

The film is produced by Bendik Heggen Strønstad under his Yesbox Productions banner, co-produced by Lars L. Marøy at Film Found FUZZ and executive produced by Gudrun Giddings, Tore Fredrik Dreyer and Lars Andreas Hellebust.

XYZ Films is representing the U.S. rights while Epic Pictures is handling international sale. The deal was negotiated by Gordon, Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films, and Gudrun Giddings and Kim H. Swartz at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP.